The vast majority of our grid-scale storage of electricity uses this clever method. Electricity faces a fundamental problem that comes with pretty much any product that’s provided on-demand: our ability to generate large amounts of it doesn’t match up that closely with when we need it. The storage of electricity for later use, especially on a large scale, is quite challenging. That’s not to say that we don’t store energy at grid scale though, and there’s one type of storage that makes up the vast majority of our current capacity.
This video gives a brief overview of this ingenious method of compressing air using only the power of water. The way a trompe harnesses the power of water to generate compressed air with no moving parts is fascinating and its use is seeing a small revival in modern days. A trompe can be useful in off-grid aquaponics and hydroponic systems that need aeration of the water. And, in fact, the inspiration for this video came from the late Bruce Leavitt, a mining engineer who pioneered the use of small trompes for aeration and treatment of mining water in remote locations without access to electricity.
